Creo: The Best 3D Design Software

In our opinion, the best 3D design software available is PTC Creo. We admit to a bit of prejudice, since we are the largest PTC distributor on the West Coast, but in the case of Creo, it’s hard to argue with facts. The Creo product was first introduced more than 30 years ago, and it’s been worked on continuously ever since to ensure it keeps pace with the needs of engineers. As a result, it is the most full-featured, functional and flexible 3D CAD system available.

Creo consists of multiple integrated applications that span the needs of product developers. Companies can choose only the applications they need, and they can add other applications later if their needs change. Each of the applications is tops in its class. Here’s an overview of the applications comprising the best 3D design software in the market.

PTC Creo Direct

PTC Creo Direct is all about speed and flexibility during the design process. It allows both experienced and casual users to make design changes quickly and easily in a full direct modeling environment. This is true whether the designs are 2D or 3D parametric.

The Creo application enables users to quickly define the products’ geometry, focusing on the design itself rather than on features. It allows creation of a first pass design without worrying about constraints or parameters. It’s speed and ease of use make it ideal for “what if” or brainstorming sessions.

Because of its ease of use, Creo Direct allows infrequent users to contribute their ideas directly into the design process and any user to explore design alternatives with speed and agility. It’s an ideal tool for teamwork and collaboration since any team member can propose design changes directly on the model. Creo Direct is also a quick and cost-effective application for creating tools and fixtures in a CAM environment.

PTC Creo Parametric

Creo Parametric can create detailed documentation, including 2D and 3D drawings, additive manufacturing (3D printing) designs and even works with drawings imported from other PTC and non-PTC solutions.

The application includes a complete library of parts, features and tools to enable rapid selection and to encourage reuse of parts to minimize future inventory concerns. It supports freehand modeling, sheet metal and weld modeling, and assembly modeling.

Because it’s accessible over the web, Creo Parametric is ideal for collaboration among teams in different locations, or for working with key customers and suppliers.

PTC Creo Options Modeler

Creo Options Modeler complements Creo Parametric by facilitating modular designs that can be combined in multiple ways. Products can be designed to match customer requirements, and Options Modeler (OMX) will validate the structure and its integrity. Users can approach the design process in either a “top down” or “bottom up” method, with an equally flexible process. Creo OMX produces 3D representations of products that correspond to a uniquely structured BOM.

Creo OMX reduces the time necessary to produce modular designs while keeping costs low. It helps to reduce errors and design bottlenecks by reusing existing model designs whenever possible. It automates error-prone manual tasks and validates new product designs, including mass, center of gravity, interference and several other critical areas.

The application uses model assembly tags to ensure module interchangeability and creates configurable models that draw on unlimited features modules. The 3D models Creo OMX generates can be used for downstream operations such as simulations, process modeling or manufacturing.

PTC Creo Elements / Direct Modeling

PTC Creo Elements Direct Modeling is ideal for companies that need a quick, lightweight tool for one-off product designs or short design cycles. Users find the design process moves quickly because they interact directly with the design geometry. The resulting time savings can be used for faster time to market or to add iterative design cycles incorporating customer or supplier input.

In a competitive market, companies are forced to add new features and design elements quickly and continuously, and PTC Creo Elements is ideal for this type of environment. The speed and ease of adding new features can help to prolong the product’s life-cycle, and it also enables new features to be added late in the initial design cycle.

The user interface is as quick and simple as Microsoft Office, so anyone can easily join in and add their ideas, making it easy to work with remote workers, late additions to the team or external stakeholders. It uses familiar methodologies such as drag and drop or cut and paste, so there is little or no training required.

The product is not only easy to use, it is also extremely powerful. It can manage products with more than 100,000 components or parts, and its digital prototyping can manage tolerances as tight as 10-6mm geometric resolution.

Why NxRev

Regardless of your product design environment, one of these PTC Creo applications is bound to be a perfect fit for your organization. Many experts and industry analysts consider Creo to be the ultimate CAD solution in the market. As one of the highest volume PTC dealers, we agree.

NxRev has been in business since 2001. Our leadership team has years of experience in the industry, with PTC and other tools. Our goal is to help our customers maximize the ROI of their investment in design tools through consulting, training and services that help their users through every step of the design process. If you’d like to learn more about PTC Creo and how NxRev can help you, contact us today.

About NxRev - NxRev is an engineering enablement company that specializes in sales, support, and consulting services for high-level engineering design firms. As the largest PTC partner on the west coast, we sell the entire suite of PTC software, as well as complementary solutions including FloEFD.